Triple spending on insulation for poorer homes, say MPs

The Government should treble the amount it is planning to spend on energy efficiency as part of a drive to save the planet, a cross-party group of MPs has said.

Plans unveiled as part of the mini-budget included spending an extra £1 billion over the next three years on insulation for low-income households to protect them from spiralling gas prices.

But the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the Environment has called for that figure to be increased to £3 billion, allowing another 2.1 million households to receive support with energy efficiency measures.

The proposal is part of the APPG’s 10-point plan for climate and the environment, published on Tuesday, which identifies the top priorities for the Government over the next 12 months.

Backing the energy efficiency plans, Labour MP Alan Whitehead said: “Expensive fossil fuels are leaving UK homes cold and destroying the planet.

“We need a retrofit revolution to permanently bring down energy bills and carbon emissions whilst creating jobs across the country.”

Other measures in the plan include cutting VAT on public charging points for electric vehicles from 20% to 5%, tripling the target for electricity generated by floating offshore wind power by 2035, and creating an Office for Carbon Removal to regulate the market for carbon offsetting.

The MPs also called for more funding for decarbonising agriculture and tougher targets for restoring nature ahead of the UN Cop15 biodiversity summit in Montreal, Canada, in December.

Green MP Caroline Lucas, who is vice-chairwoman of the APPG, said: “The UK has become one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.

“If we are to halt and reverse the perilous decline in nature and destruction of wildlife, then the targets set under the Environment Act must not only be credible and comprehensive but, crucially, delivered.

“With the vitally important global summit of Cop15 now just around the corner, this is our moment to protect and restore nature for generations to come.”

APPG members have previously called on Liz Truss to attend Cop15 as a sign of the UK’s commitment to biodiversity targets.

The group’s chairman, Conservative MP Chris Skidmore, has also been tasked by the Prime Minister to produce a review on how to reach the UK’s net zero targets while ensuring economic growth.

But the Government has recently been criticised by green campaigners for appearing to row back on environmental commitments with policies such as lifting the ban on fracking and granting more licences for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.

Officials have consistently said the Government remains fully committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.